One month after...

This is the first post after a month being a teacher... Honestly speaking, I'm in love with this job! I love all the kids. Well, most of the kids. So far, my favourite class is year 6 Cekal. And I love teaching art!! I love being called Mr. Tan (I don't like to be called sir Tan, sounded like Setan). 

Anyhow, Something funny happened today. No, actually two funny things happened today. I went into the year 3 Intan today and as usual I asked them to finish the art I asked them to do for the past three weeks. AND as usual, when they were doing the colouring/pasting, I walked around to monitor their progress. So when I came to this table, a boy was talking fast to me. Let's call the boy, boy T. He knew from previous weeks, I have a ps3, so he kept asking me about games and whatnot. Then, quite abruptly, he said this, "Cigu. Cigu kenal Shahmi? Cigu kenalkan? Shami gitau Tammy yang Shami slalu chat sama cigu dalam facebook." Not really paying attention, I asked: "Tammy ane sapa?" He pointed to his reddening face and replied: "aku" and the whole class was laughing. I had no idea the whole class was eavesdropping. haha, I'm so useless. Poor kid he was. 

I went to Nurul's class to observe her teaching year 6 Ceria for art. When I went upstairs, the class was really chaotic. Pupils were running and some girls kept requesting permission to look for Nurul. Because the requests were persistent and because the boys were misbehaving, I decided to 'erupt' in the class (although I'm not supposed to teach them). I yelled myself hoarse and did my best to do a scary stern look and I guess it paid off because I managed to control the class. While I was yelling, I saw my cousin as well as some other children (who is in year 5, next door) peeking into the class. I thought to myself, "wow! I must be really loud that the kids next door came peering to investigate the source of the noise".

During the journey home, I asked to my cousin, "I looked scary just now right?" She replied: "No, not at all. I felt like laughing". TOINK! Then I continued: "How come you guys were there when i was yelling? My voice must be booming then?" She replied: "booming? I can't hear you at all. We were just drinking, that's all"  

I'm loving it!

This is a post from a friend's blog about life. It's purely his writing, so please don't credit me. credit zukri the man! I'm just directing; Here goes:

Little Big Life

Let me get one thing out of the way before we go any further. In my opinion, and after years of pondering, reading, asking and more pondering, I think for absolute certainty that:-

HUMANS ARE LIMITED

We are. We have expiry dates. We have limited time from the moment we were born, to the moment when we finally have our final sleep. In between, we are limited by our energy level, by the time of the day, by the time of other people. We are limited in our physical capacity, by our mental capacity, by our social, spiritual and emotional capacity.

We are limited, by nature.

I cannot be skiing in Korea, while also scuba-diving in Bali. I cannot flap my hands fast enough so that I'll float like a humming bird. I cannot cross a football field in a single leap.

It is obvious that we cannot do everything, no matter how much planning we do. No matter how much positive thinking we inject, no matter how much training we put it.

It is obvious that we cannot do everything – but, make no mistake, we are capable of ALOT.

Most of us never reach our full capacity, because we never dare. We have been taught by society that failure is a painful emotion and that we should back away from even the possibility of failing. That holds us back. That makes us unwilling to put ourselves beyond our boundaries. This makes us limited.

Indeed, I believe that we, humans, are limited – but we are nowhere near that limit.

There are things that are being discovered today that we never knew possible a few years ago. There are inventions, born from a single idea, and grew into empires. Records are broken. Adventures had. Books written. Wonderful, new things being done every single day.

One day, we will reach our fullest potential, our maximum stretch, our furthest reach, where we've reached our limitation and unable to grow anymore.

But that day is nowhere near us.

We all have a part to play in pushing ourselves, and discovering how far we can jump, how high we can reach, how much we can take.

Do your part for humankind. Show us what we’re capable of doing!

Here is a trivial post...

Hey there... I've got something to share here.

I was told by a friend that a certain ferry (somewhere closer than you think) charged people for going to the toilet. I mean yeah, why bother sharing this, it's quite common for some faculties/buildings/transportation to charge us for going into the lavatory.

Well I'd say, hold on to your sea horses! I've not made my point! For starters, the ferry charged 20 cents to those who go into the toilet to urinate. What's more, people who wants to defecate or in a more delicate form of word, "to shit" will have to pay 30 cents. AND AND AND, there's more! If you go for both, you'll actually have to pay 50 cents. Well yeah, a 2nd year primary school child can solve that simple addition. BUT (there's a huge but for it), this is not about the pricing (well in a way, yes, this is about the pricing).

So, here's something for you to think about:

Number 1: Why charged them differently? Both are the final product of waste and there's not much of a difference between these two: They're smelly and dirty. Same degree of disgusting-ness.

Number 2: How would the caretaker know whether they're "shi-shi-ing" or "poo-poo-ing"? By all means, people would be paying 20 cents for all it matters. Unless, they put a camera inside the toilet to know whether this people are lying or vice versa. Or a much less brutal way, put up a smell-o-meter to give it a sniff whether they are pissing or crapping. Right?

Number 3: Who,and I mean, WHO goes into the toilet and make a 'huge investment' without the 'small investment'; who? No one right? Then, for all it matters, they should be putting "20 cents for the tinkle and 50 cents for the wrinkle" or even better "20 cents per entry" for the signboard, which sounded much more reasonable and less hassle. 

So there you go. If there is someone who has a different opinion, go on and give it a comment.  

It's the Nu ya!

Hey Hey! Its the New Year! Welcome year 2011, bye bye 2010... I know for sure that this year, there's a lot to look forward for... One thing, I'm turning 25 by September and also, I'll be leaving UBD (if there's no problem). and Ooh yeah, I'll also be having my teaching practise and guess what? It's just around the corner... Nervous! And not to forget, it's the 1st of January so it has been 3 years since our beloved grandmother left us.

Now that year 2010 is sooooo last year, let's talk about year 2011. As in, what would I like to achieve? you know? A new year resolution? lol... So here's what I want to achieve by the final day of December 2011.

By the end of year 2011, I should be able to:

1) Ignore all the negative remarks supplied to make you feel bad about yourself and be happier.

2) Complete my degree and also to pursue for higher achievement.

3) maintain a healthier lifestyle.

4) express myself and deal with stress better than I could now.

5) become a better: friend, son, uncle, teacher, person and better boyfriend

6) land myself a nice, "I-heart-cooking" girlfriend.. haha! I'm kidding about this one. I may have felt lonely at certain times but I'm not desperate! haha

Well, there you go, 5 resolutions to keep by the end of year 2011. AND, go BLAST yourself with the new year celebration. haha

Sarah

This is a story I got from Chicken Soup for teacher's soul. It's really inspiring and in a way, broaden my mind. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do, and I hope you'll be able to gain something from this story.


Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye. =H. Jackson Brown, Jr.=


I will never forget Sarah. In my eight years as a Head Start teacher, she was my most exceptional student.

One morning, the administrator had called my assistant and me into her office. she told us that we'd be getting a new student- a three-year-old named Sarah. "The girl has been abused," she said. Her father had poured a scalding bucket of hot water down her head, badly burning her neck, back and legs and scalp. She had no hair. Her back and legs would have to be wiped down with oil every few hours so they would not get stiff.

Sarah visited my preschool room the next day for an introductory meeting while the other students were out. Her facial features were petite, and she smiled up at me with innocent brown eyes, startlingly naked because her eyebrows were missing. The back of her bald head was badly scarred down to the neck. She wore a simple white sundress that showed her burnt arms. I seized with anger at the father. The I worried about how the other children would react. I struggled to maintain calm in front of Sarah, her foster mother and my teaching assistant. After Sarah and her mom left, I gave into tears.
"We must prepare the students," my assistant reminded me. "We can't just let her walk in and be made fun of."
"To draw attention to her appearance would single her out," I said. After much discussion, we agreed to have Sarah come in for a half-day on her first day in order to ascertain how the children would react towards her.

The morning Sarah arrived she quietly took a seat. I watched her every second. During playtime, the other children talked to her and shared their toys. They didn't seem to notice that she's different.
"It's dress-up time," One of my students reminded me. Everyday before lunch, they all got to raid the closets and play in a collection of grown-up clothes and fanciful kid's costumes.
"Okay, everyone, let's get started," I agreed.

Sarah followed the other children and put on an Easter bonnet and princess outfit. I tried to smile, but the disparity between the delicate fabric and her scarred skin made me ache for her.

Sarah left for lunch. Her classmates had nap-time and then I led a vocabulary-building lesson. Finally I asked the children, "so how do you all like our new friend Sarah?"
One child answered. "Her hands are small."
"Another added, "She picked the long skirt for dress-up."
Not one mentioned her thick skin or her missing hair. The children's observations helped me realise something very valuable. We teachers saw Sarah as a child who had suffered greatly, a child who needed exceptional handling and assistance. We wanted to hold her, prove to her that not all adults were bad. The children, many of whom had also suffered in some way, saw beyond her scarred appearance. They saw another child, a peer, a new friend.

The next school day, during dress-up, Sarah put on the princess clothes again. She stood in front of a full-length mirror and danced in front of her reflection. "I am beautiful," She murmured o herself.

The confidence of her whirling poses and self-compliment struck me. Here was a child who I thought should be shriveling in self-pity. Instead she was twirling around, having fun. I felt humbled by her inner strength and honored to witness her joy in just being alive. I reached out and embraced her. "Yes, Sarah, you are beautiful."

By Michele Wallace Campanelli

Some people just think...

that being outspoken is really awesome. Well guess again! If you just met someone for the first time, I think it is better for you break the ice first. And by that I don't mean pointing out your weaknesses.

Remember about my fifth pet peeves? Well, I went to the swimming pool today with my cousin and 2 of his colleagues. We've never met before and when we were in the water, one of his friends said this to me: "wow, you're really fat." Stung by the statement, I gave a curt nod and swam off. Later that day, I reported this to my cousin. He said: "well at least he's being honest". Rather hurt by the lack of support, I retort quite aggressively: "He's not being honest, he's being a dick!"

Yes, I AM very sensitive about my weight and I don't like strangers coming to me and point that out. I'm well aware of that, thank you very much! I told my cousin that, "If you don't have a nice thing to say to somebody, you should keep it to yourself". My cousin observed me momentarily and replied:"I see you're not open to criticism".

It felt like he was pouring gasoline onto a raging fire. Although I was quite irritated, I calmly said: "It's not that I'm not open to criticism, It's just that I've been ridiculed countless of times, as far as I'm alive, people just think that calling me fat is like entertainment. They laugh thinking that it's really funny, but they don't know how I feel on the inside."

It's not like I wanted to be this way. Besides, I wouldn't mind if someone criticized me based on my work, I'm confident I have the ability to do better. But in THIS case, I've been trying and trying but I'm still this way. I remember the last 3 months holiday, I made an effort to brisk walk every single day without fail (unless it was raining) but I am still me. The only difference is the increasing number of blisters on my feet. Sometimes I ponder to myself, "aren't people tired of ridiculing others?"

I would like to say, try to be more empathic. Try not to say something hurtful, have more <3...

The things that makes me :)

Here it is... the lists of things that make me think that I'm in heaven haha. Like my previous post, I'll add in 10 things that can make me smile.

Here goes:

Happy list No.1; Coffee! Especially in the morning. Hmmm, smells nice aaaaaaah... Leaving me totally intoxicated. haha

Happy list No.2; Laughing like there's no tomorrow... Of course you'd feel elated. If you laugh but still feel morose, that's just plain scary. haha

Happy list No.3; Going to the bookstore. Just by smelling the new books makes me smile. So whenever I go out, within the country or outside, I'll look for the bookstore. haha

Happy list No.3; Travelling! Traveling is also one of the things that leave me feeling convivial. But with several conditions:

1. I must be accompanied by someone who's really good with directions and map.

2. It's a english/malay/chinese speaking country. I won't say no to Japanese too.

3. I must bring a lot of money. If not, I'll feel insecure.

Happy list No.4; ICE-CREAM! How I wish we can have an ice-cream that's as big as the ones in "cloudy, with a chance of meatball". Just so you know; my favourite's yam and sweet corn. Again, take the hint. haha

Happy list No.5; singing!! I discovered I like singing when I was in a choir group. It felt really good, like you belonged to something. When I become a teacher, I would start a choir club, if there's no choir club in the school. un un...

Happy list No.6; aaaah yes. Painting. I love painting. Although the only thing thats working is your hand but it's quite tiring you know. But the end product reaps, you'll feel like you've achieved something. haha

Happy list No.7; Cloud-gazing... aah when you look up at the sky and observe the different shaped clouds, you'll feel like you're floating and feel like there's no trouble. Try it, I think you can relax better that way. It's really soothing!

Happy list No.9; Fresh bakery... aaaaaah, the smell... I can sniff all day long.

Happy List No.10; Listening to my playlist. Sorry? Did I hear someone say that the picture above is so contradicting? Well, I deliberately chose it. Got a problem with that? Anyhow, Oooh this is really important for me. I usually won't leave home without my ipod/phone. The songs are the best substitute for my friends when I'm alone.

Of course, I would be listening to:

IKIMONO GAKARI!!

So there you go. My top ten list of things that can make me joyful. So what's yours?